Moldova: EU supports development of agriculture with EUR 120 million

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending EUR 120 million to support SMEs and micro enterprises active in Moldova’s horticultural sector. Improving access to finance will help increase the sector’s competiveness and product quality, and facilitate exports from Moldova to diverse markets.

The project, called “The Fruit Garden of Moldova,” will support activities in the entire food value chain, from the education of farmers through to harvesting and food production.

“The EIB is providing a loan to a key sector of Moldova’s economy. These funds will help increase the living standards of Moldova’s citizens while at the same time allowing the country to benefit from the free trade area with the EU,” said EIB Vice-President Wilhelm Molterer.

Prime Minister of Moldova Iuri Leanca stated: ”The Moldovan farmers, fruit and vegetable growers, will greatly benefit from this opportunity. Our country has always been recognized for its agriculture products, tasty fruits and vegetables of highest quality. There is, however, a lot of potential to still achieve in modernizing our agriculture sector, increasing our production and export capacity, improve our farmers’ skills to not only produce but also sell their quality products. The Fruit Garden of Moldova is destined to be a successful project both for our economy and for EIB”. 

Ambassador Pirkka Tapiola, Head of EU Delegation to Moldova, mentioned: "The European Union has committed a financial support of EUR 64 million to the ENPARD Program. The Fruit Garden project is a good synergy for the upcoming ENPARD and will lead to the implementation of the Agricultural Strategy and common development and assistance goals in this sector."

The borrower is Moldova’s Ministry of Finance, while the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry will be the promoter of the project. With its loan, the EIB will support a total investment volume of around EUR 300 million. Besides the EIB’s contribution, the project will be financed by own funds from the final beneficiaries, loans from local commercial banks and possibly grants from various donors, including the European Commission, through the Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF).

Agriculture is a key sector of Moldova’s economy. The EU is the country’s principal trading partner, with 54% of Moldova's total trade.

Since 2007, when the Republic of Moldova became eligible for EIB funds, the Bank has signed 13 projects in the country with a total loan volume of EUR 586 million.